Is small talk actually necessary, or are we all just pretending to enjoy it?

In this episode of Social Rounds, Frances Mei Hardin and Ryan Montoya take over the show while Tony Chin-Quee is away, diving into the psychology of awkward conversations, people pleasing, media training, and why some of the best insults are the ones delivered with perfect timing.

They discuss the art of conversation, surviving uncomfortable social situations, why authenticity beats networking, and how physicians often carry people-pleasing habits long after training ends. Along the way, they trade favorite insults, debate whether small talk serves any purpose, and explore how media training changed the way Frances approaches difficult conversations.

Topics include:

• The funniest insults of all time
• Why doctors struggle with people pleasing
• Escaping awkward conversations
• Media training for physicians
• Authenticity vs networking
• Social anxiety and professional relationships
• Communication psychology
• Life after medicine
• The return of Social Rounds without Tony

Subscribe for new episodes every week exploring medicine, psychology, creativity, and the culture surrounding healthcare.

Hosted by:

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Ryan Montoya: @ryan_montoya_art

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

Family medicine is one of the most misunderstood specialties in medicine.

In this episode of Social Rounds, Tony Chin-Quee, Frances Mei Hardin, and Ryan Montoya tackle the biggest myths surrounding primary care—from physician salaries and burnout to diversity in medicine, side hustles, chronic disease management, and what family medicine is actually like in practice.

They also play a new game, "Scroll or Troll," debating the state of medical social media and whether doctors should be making day-in-the-life videos, get-ready-with-me reels, medical rap songs, and residency application content.

Plus, Tony shares a major life update as he prepares to leave the show temporarily for his move to Canada.

If you're a medical student, resident, physician, or simply curious about how medicine really works behind the scenes, this episode offers an honest—and often hilarious—look at one of healthcare's most essential specialties.

Topics include:

• Is family medicine really underpaid?
• Why primary care physicians burn out
• Diversity and representation in medicine
• The realities of chronic disease management
• Medical student stereotypes
• Physician influencers and social media
• Residency culture
• Tony's move to Canada

Subscribe for new conversations every week exploring medicine, healthcare culture, and the lives of physicians beyond the hospital.

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Ryan Montoya: @ryan_montoya_art

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

Can you trust a plastic surgeon who isn't attractive? Is it safe to travel abroad for cosmetic surgery? Should your surgeon say "no" if your expectations aren't realistic?

This week on Social Rounds, Frances Mei Hardin, MD and Tony Chin-Quee are joined by newly graduated plastic surgeon Dr. Liz Malphrus for an honest (and hilarious) conversation about the biggest myths surrounding plastic surgery.

Together they discuss:

• Should plastic surgeons "look the part"?
• Why good surgeons sometimes refuse to operate
• The truth about breast implants and cosmetic surgery
• Medical tourism: Brazil, Turkey, Mexico, and the real risks
• How to choose the right plastic surgeon
• Why cheap cosmetic surgery can become very expensive
• Plastic surgery ethics, patient expectations, and body image

Whether you're considering cosmetic surgery, curious about plastic surgery, or simply enjoy candid conversations about medicine and culture, this episode pulls back the curtain on one of healthcare's most misunderstood specialties.

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Guest: Dr. Liz Malphrus

Connect with Liz: @dr.malphrus

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

What does it take to walk away from a successful medical career and start over as an archaeologist?

In this episode of Social Rounds, Tony Chin-Quee and Frances Mei sit down with archaeologist and former nurse practitioner Katie Chin-Quee to talk about one of the most unconventional career pivots you'll ever hear. Katie shares how years of practicing medicine led her to pursue archaeology, what it's really like studying ancient human remains, and why the transition wasn't as strange as it sounds.

Then the conversation takes a surprising turn into one of archaeology's biggest ethical debates: the booming online market for human bones. Should human remains ever be bought and sold? Who owns the dead? And what responsibilities do museums, collectors, and medical institutions have to the people whose remains they're displaying?

Topics include:

• Leaving medicine for archaeology
• Burnout in healthcare
• Bioarchaeology and paleopathology
• Ancient Egypt and hieroglyphics
• Medical ethics vs archaeological ethics
• The controversial online human bone trade
• Colonialism, museums, and the ownership of human remains
• Why archaeology may have more in common with medicine than you think

If you enjoy thoughtful conversations about medicine, history, ethics, and culture, subscribe for new episodes every week.

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Guest: Katie Chin-Quee

Connect with Katie: @indiana.joan

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

Were the doctors you know always this weird?

This week on Social Rounds, Tony, Frances Mei, and Ryan take a trip back to childhood and revisit the nerdy obsessions, social disasters, and formative experiences that shaped them long before medicine entered the picture.

From comic book collecting in the 1990s to Pokémon encyclopedic knowledge, musical theater fandom, bug collections, dictionaries at recess, and the painful realities of being the odd kid out, the conversation explores what it means to grow up different—and why that difference can become a strength later in life.

They also discuss people-pleasing, popularity, identity, internet criticism, and why some adults spend decades trying to recover from middle school while others simply learn to embrace being weird.

Plus: Ryan launches a campaign to become Social Rounds' "third chair," Frances Mei reveals her lifelong Pokémon expertise, Tony defends musical theater, and Colin's mustache unexpectedly becomes a topic of public discourse.

In this episode:

• Growing up nerdy in the 90s and 2000s
• Comic books, Pokémon, and musical theater
• Childhood loneliness and social rejection
• People-pleasing vs. individuality
• Why unpopular kids often become unconventional adults
• The psychology of fitting in
• Internet criticism and resilience
• The ongoing saga of Cartography Geoff
• Colin's controversial mustache

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Ryan Montoya: @ryan_montoya_art

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

What happens when a surgeon says yes to a random yoga retreat in Mexico and meets the person who will change his life?

In this special (and surprisingly wholesome) episode of Social Rounds, Tony and Frances Mei are joined by Tony's wife, Katie Chin-Quee, a former nurse practitioner turned archaeologist, to share the story of how they met, fell in love, navigated long-distance dating, and built a life together.

From chance encounters and late-night phone calls to board exams, grand gestures, and a second date in the Bahamas, this episode explores what it takes to build a lasting partnership in medicine and beyond.

Along the way, the trio discusses:

• Dating during medical careers
• Long-distance relationships
• Situationships vs. commitment
• Friendship boundaries and relationships
• Why grand gestures still matter
• Marriage, partnership, and putting each other first
• Life after medicine

Whether you're a physician, healthcare professional, or simply someone who loves a good love story, this episode offers an honest look at relationships, vulnerability, and choosing each other.

Social Rounds is the podcast where Frances Mei Hardin and Tony Chin-Quee give their unsolicited opinions on medicine, culture, relationships, and whatever else they happen to find interesting.

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Guest: Katie Chin-Quee

Connect with Katie: @indiana.joan

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

A graduating medical student publishes an essay called Medicine Without Merit, arguing that DEI initiatives have undermined fairness, lowered standards, and discriminated against white men in medicine.

Tony and Frances Mei dive into the article, unpacking its claims about merit, admissions, standardized testing, diversity, and representation in healthcare. Along the way, they explore why conversations about "meritocracy" in medicine are often more complicated than they first appear—and what gets missed when individual achievement is separated from larger systems and structures.

They also discuss educational privilege, physician workforce diversity, patient trust, professional accountability, and the difference between experiencing discrimination and understanding it.

Plus: Geoff the cartographer returns as an unexpected source of podcast drama, Instagram etiquette becomes a philosophical debate, and Frances Mei explains why unanswered comments can create alternate realities.

In this episode:

• The "Medicine Without Merit" controversy
• DEI and medical school admissions
• Standardized testing and educational privilege
• Diversity, trust, and patient outcomes
• Meritocracy in medicine
• Professional accountability
• Geoff's growing cult following
• The psychology of being left on read

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

This week on Social Rounds, Tony and Frances Mei slow things down for a more reflective episode.

After weeks of guests, chaos, travel, and controversy, they get back to basics — talking about Europe, ghosts in Rome, getting robbed in England, leaving the UK for Canada, and the question at the center of the episode:

Was medicine really all bad?

From funny patient encounters and late-night residency memories to heartbreaking moments with cancer patients and families, Tony and Frances Mei reflect on the humanity that still stayed with them long after leaving clinical medicine.

This episode is about the moments that made the work meaningful — even inside a broken system.

Topics include:

• Traveling through Rome, Paris & Copenhagen
• Why Frances Mei thinks the Colosseum should be haunted
• Tony’s family home getting robbed in England
• Leaving medicine without invalidating the good parts
• Patient relationships that still matter years later
• Love, grief, family, and dignity in healthcare
• Why medicine can be meaningful and unsustainable at the same time

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective